Light-excluding cover for bottle beverage cases



May 3, 1938.

s. s. GULLO ET AL 2,116,431

LIGHT EXCLUDING COVER FOR BOTTLE BEVERAGE CASES Filed June 22, 1937 I 6 SIWOYVFM 7 5.5- 522/147 J. WBNWHE m I l} T it W 44.0244

6 new Patented May 3, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.)

LIGHT-EXCLUDING COVER Fon BOTTLE BEVERAGE CASES Application June 22, 1937,, Serial No. 149,734

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a light-excluding cover for cases for bottled beer and other liquids, the quality of which is affected by actinic light.

The general object of the invention. is to provide an opaque sheet preferably of inexpensive material such as cardboard, overlying the bottles in the case, fitting in light-tight manner the sides of the case, and occluding the hand holes in the ends of the case.

It is known that beer deteriorates rapidly under the action of daylight and attempts have heretofore been made to protect the bottles in the case from exposure to daylight. The expedients resulting from such attempts have not come into use notwithstanding the universal demand, through reasons of i'mpracticability.

Among the more specific objects of the present invention, are to provide an imperforate shield which shall exclude the light from the entire bottles, which shall have an unweakened girder construction so that it will not be readily deformed through dampness or rough handling, that shall require no adhesive to fix it in place and that shall automatically slip through the hand holes in the act of inserting it into, the

crate.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following description of a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of the following specification and throughout the several figures of which the same characters of reference have been employed to designate identical parts:

Figure l is a perspective view of a standard beer case illustrating the light-excluding shield of the present invention in position;

Figure 2 is a perspective viewed from beneath;

Figure 3 is a cross section of the case partly broken away illustrating the position of the lightexcluding shield;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal section through a filled case, part being omitted illustrating the light-excluding shield in position of partial insertion; and

Figure 5 is a plan view of the blank from which the light-excluding shield is set up.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, the numeral l represents a rectangular box or case having the hand holes 2 and 3 in the opposite ends. Figures 3 and 4 show the bottles 4 in view of the shield the case, illustrating the relative height of the case above the bottles and the level of the hand holes below the tops of the bottles. The light exeluding shield which is in general designated by the reference character 5 is formed from a blank Shaving the score lines I which define a top or face 8 and lateral flaps or flanges 9 and. end flanges H], The face 8 is made to fit closely within the case with the flanges 9. and Ill folded down as shown in Figure 2 and, fitting closely against the side and ends of the case. The end flanges III are provided with the extending tongues I l which when the light-excluding shield 10 5' is in place protrude through the hand holes to the out side of the case, to which they are fastened by a staple I2, one for each tongue driven into the ends of the case. The top- 8 of the lightexcluding shield is adapted to rest upon the caps of the bottles 4 as illustrated in Figure 3, with the tongues ll extending in an inclined manner from the inner upper edge of the hand hole to the lower outer edge.

' By this arrangement the tongues not only completely close the hand holes to the entrance of light, but they also leave the ledges l3 constituted by the upper walls of the hand holes exposed on the outside of the case to afiord a grip for the fingers. It will be noted from Figure 2 that the flanges 9 and i0 extend perpendicular to the top 8 of the light-excluding shield and that said flanges are unbroken throughout their length thus constituting girder members which resist deformation of the top 8 from its normal planiform condition.

In view of the strength afforded by said unbroken girder members it is possible and prac tical to pull down upon the tongues. II when stapling them to the ends of the case so as to hold the light-excluding shield firmly in position without having to paste the flanges to the inner sides of the case. The flanges 9 and I0 tend to spread slightly due to the inherent resiliency in the material from which the light-excluding shield 40 is made and therefore make intimate and lightexcluding contact with the surfaces of the case. This spreading tendency of the flanges also assists in the insertion of the light-excluding shield in the case as is illustrated in Figure 4. The shield is presented to the open top of the case with the flanges in a downward direction. As soon as the initial insertion of the tongues has been made they diverge, through the spreading tendency of the flanges automatically inserting themselves through the hand holes without any attention on the part of the operator. Thus a great many of the light-excluding shields can be applied to the cases in a minimum unit of time.

In view of the substantially perfect light-excluding construction of the shield 5, beer may be kept indefinitely in cases equipped with said shield without perceptible deterioration; Access to the bottles may be had by lifting out one of the staples l2 with a screw driver or suitable implement or alternatively the shield may be torn away and the removing of the staples left to the bottling establishment to which the empty cases are returned. By the removal of the staples all vestiges of the old shield will thus be obliterated and the case is in readiness to be refilled with bottles and to have a new light-excluding shield applied. This is in sharp contra-distinction to the known expedient of pasting a light-excluding member in or about the case which necessitates the case being wetted upon its return to the bottling house so that the adherent parts of the old shield may be scraped off or otherwise removed, and the cases must then be dried before another light-excluding shield can be pasted thereon.

While we have in the above disclosure described what we believe to be a preferred and practical embodiment of the invention, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the details as shown and described are by way of example and not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In combination, a bottle case of the type having hand holes in the opposite ends below the normal plane of the tops of the bottles in said case, and a light-excluding shield for said case comprising an opaque sheet member fitting in the case around the periphery thereof above the plane of the top edges of the hand holes and supported upon the bottles therein contained, having turned down side and end flanges with outward spreading tendency, resiliently engaging the inner side and end surfaces of the case, said member having tongues extending from the ends of said flanges the full width of said hand holes,

passing diagonally through said hand holes, impinging against the upper and lower edges of said hand holes, said flanges being adapted to be secured to the outside of said case below said hand holes.

2. In combination, a bottle case of the type having hand holes in the opposite ends below the normal plane of the tops of the bottles in said case, and a light-excluding shield for said case comprising an opaque sheet member fitting in the case around the periphery thereof above the plane of the top edges of the hand holes, and supported upon the bottles therein contained, having turned down side and end flanges with outward spreading tendency, resiliently engaging the inner side and end surfaces of the case, said member having tongues extending from the ends of said flanges the full width of said hand holes, passing diagonally through said hand holes, impinging against the upper and lower edges of said hand holes, said tongues being adapted to be secured to the outside of said case below said hand holes, said end flanges being unbroken throughout their length so as to constitute girder supports for the ends of said shield to distribute the pull of said tongues without deforming said shield.

3. In a bottle case of that type having hand holes at a lower level than the plane of the tops of the bottles contained therein, a light-excluding shield comprising an opaque sheet member adapted to fit in said case around the periphery thereof above the plane of the top edges of the hand holes and adapted to be supported upon the. bottles in said case, said member having turned down side and end flanges with outward spreading tendency adapted to resiliently engage the inner side and end surfaces of the case, said member having tongues extending from the ends of said flanges the full width of said hand holes, adapted to pass diagonally through said hand holes and to impinge against the upper and lower edges of said hand holes, said tongues being adapted to be secured to the outside of said case below said hand holes.

4. In a bottle case of that type having hand holes at a lower level than the plane of the tops of the bottles contained therein, a light-excluding shield comprising an opaque sheet member adapted to fit in said case around the periphery thereof above the plane of the top edges of the hand holes and adapted to be supported upon the bottles in said case, said member having turned down side and end flanges with outward spreading tendency adapted to resiliently engage the inner side and end surfaces of the case, said member having tongues extending from the ends of said flanges the full width of said hand holes, adapted to pass diagonally through said hand holes and to impinge against the upper and lower edges of said hand holes, said tongues being adapted to be secured to the outside of said case below said hand holes, said end flanges being unbroken throughout their length so as to constitute girder supports for the ends of said shields to distribute the pull of said tongues without deforming said shield.

SAMUEL S. GULLO. PATRICK W. BROWNE. 

